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Monday, January 12, 2015

Sometimes we are too cheap for our own good!

When we woke up yesterday morning, the temperature outside here at 8,000 ft (2,400 meters) altitude was -5C (23F). Even worse, it was only 2C (36F) inside the motorhome. To make you understand how cold that is, it was one degree warmer inside our refrigerator!
Brrr.

Yes, we have a furnace. And that kept us decently warm until we went to bed, and then I just shut it off for the night. But I wasn't expecting it to get that cold. Besides, these built in RV furnaces are terribly inefficient. They waste both electricity and propane. Can't wait to buy one of these Mr. Heater Indoor-Safe Portable Radiant Heater when we get up to Arizona.

Anyhow, we have a nice little 1,500 watt electric heater, so we splurged and paid the extra 80 pesos ($6.50) for electricity yesterday so that we can stay warm. We don't mind waking up to 7C or 8C inside the motorhome, but 2C was a little too chilly for us! I left it on all night last night and it was around 14C inside when we woke up this morning. Much better!

Despite the chilly start to the day, we had a nice clear blue sky and the temperature went up to about 13C (57F). Great hiking weather, so we took advantage of that to find a trail. We started up a hill, just exploring an area behind the campground, and eventually came to a 5 km (3 mile) mountain bike trail that we walked along the edge of the hills overlooking the town.

There are a lot of caves in these hills, and some of the natives still live in them.

This one is a little small for living in, but somebody had a fire here recently.

Kevin, and the city of Creel.

Ruth. I tried to get her to stand up, but she's a little afraid of falling over the edge!

We're headed over that way.

Nice view of the city.

Zoomed in on the campground. Can you see Sherman?

Selfie on the trail!

Ruth, with some of the amazing rock formations.

Kevin. More rocks!

Can you see Kevin? You might have to click on the photo to make it larger!

Great day we had yesterday.

Today, we're driving about 50 kms (30 miles) to Divisadero where we hope to find a secure place to leave Sherman for a night or two while we take the Copper Canyon train to El Fuerte!

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The Tarahumara still live much the same way that they have always done and that includes living in caves. They are steeped in tradition and don't stray from it even now although times are changing and the changes are affecting them as well. The government has tried to do a lot to help them but it isn't always appreciated the way that you think it would be.

I am not a big fan of those heaters. Any time you have a flame you have CO. being emitted also another by product of an open flame is water, something we all battle in our RV's when cold. RV furnaces are built not to be inefficient, they are built to vent the moisture of the burning of fuel and CO, it is a safety factor over economics.

If the heaters are used properly and according to the instructions then there shouldn't be an issue with them. For us, we wouldn't be using it at night while we are sleeping and when we would use it we would have a window or vent opened for the airflow. As for the moisture we get that even with the furnace so it wouldn't be any different.

I have become much more frugal too as if late, due to my recent "early" retirement. But if you are looking for a nice splurge in El Fuerte, the Posada del Hidalgo was a wonderful place, with upper level pool overlooking the Jardin, a nice big hot tub, and beautiful rooms. Typically way out of my budget, but they had a "Christmas Special" going last year, so you might be able to negotiate a deal. There was an "agent" at the train station when I disembarked, offering the discount and transport to the hotel. It was a nice splurge.

The Posada del Hidalgo looked like a very nice hotel but definitely out of our price range plus the fact that we were only there for the night, arriving late and leaving early so we wouldn't have been able to use any of the lovely facilities. There was an agent at the train station and we did talk to him but we weren't able to get a deal that suited our budget. It would be a great spot though for anyone looking for a cozy place especially if they are going to be staying for several days and could enjoy the amenities.

I'm a HUGE fan of those heaters. We've been using one for 4years with stellar results in a 27' class C. Much preferred over any other!Greatest add-on feature I reccomend is a small 12v fan blowing over the top. This will circulate the warmth throughout your entire rv!! I use a 24v muffin fan that sits on top of the heater and rests against the handle which is folded down to the rear. The 24v runs at a very gentle speed on 12v!! These heaters will shut off if knocked over, or if oxygen levels get low. We've never needed anything but the lowest setting (got down to 25 here last week for several days in a row). When it gets too warm inside, just switch to pilot only until you need it again. We never leave it unattended and never on while sleeping. It heats so efficiently you'll have to open vents!Small 1lb'r last 5 hours on low. We have 10' hose to connect to BBQ size tank and leave the tank outside, or can connect to coach.

I love our Mr Heater, works wonderful hookup to out on board lager propane tank. But do not run it at night when are sleeping even with a window open.Have had temps to -7f ( -21c) and got by, but extra closes wear my toque to bed. If I have a choice wit\ll get a campground for the night. Getting too old for that extreme weather anymore.

Yep, we know you love your Mr. Heater and it sounds like it works great. We have no intention of running it at night while we are sleeping, we don't even do that with the furnace. Kevin will wear his toque to bed too when we know it is going to get real chilly at night.

Couldn't imagine rving without or Mr. Heater. Saved us in -9C just a week ago. In Canada, we used the heck out of it in May and June. Mr. Heater has three safety checks, plus the rv has a CO2 and LP detector. Crack a window.

Okay, this is a long story... you better make yourself comfortable! Some of our long time readers might remember that I (Kevin) need to ge...

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